Vehicle wheel



May 9, 1950 Filed sept. 28, 1944 D. MCKENNA 2,506,677

VEHICLE WHEEL 4 Sheets-Sheet l .eazis ZIalemaa,

May 9, 1950 D. MGKENNA 2,506,677

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Patented May 9, 1950 VEHICLE WHEEL vDenis McKenna, Weymouth, `Mass;-

Application Septembe1'.28, 1944,.Serialor-55R225 wheel. It has, however, been proposed that the' inner tubesbe eliminated and thel volume of the air chamber' be enlarged by providing an air chamber in the wheel in communication with the tire casing. There are several advantages in such .an arrangement.- The increase in the air chamber makesfor smoother riding and may fpe'rmit reducing the size of the tire .thus conserving rubber. vThe air Ais vfree 'to circulate .in contact with metal walls which will dissipate the heat' and the tires will run at 'lower temperaturesv and will wear longer. l

It is an object of my invention to provide 'a double walled vehicle wheel providing an' airl chamber at the center of the wheel with' means for mounting and sealing a tire casing on ithewheel, the chamber of which is in communication with the air chamber of the wheel.

It isfurther an'object of my invention to pr'ovide means by which the common air chamber of the tire andv Wheel fmay be 'pumped up to the desired .pressure and the pressure maintained automaticallywliile"the 'vehicle 'is in motion.

More specically it is an object Vof 'myin'vention to mount an electricalll;7 loperated pump in the body of .the wheel and to provide means operat-y ing the pump through relatively vmovable electrica-l contacts between the rotatable wheel and the vehiclechassis.

Further objects and advantages of my improvements will be more readily lapparent from :the following descriptions of preferred embodiments hereof as disclosed in the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the axis of a wheel illustrating my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the wheel shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the plane indicated 3-3 in Fig. 1 and showing the pump construction;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing a modied construction for an airplane wheel;

Fig. 5 is a Vertical section showing a further modification for a truck Wheel in which the tire casings are relatively small in diameter and serve 2 to'support a solidrim or'treadwhich is in contact with 'the roadV surface;` and,

Fig'. Gis Ta vfragmentary 'detail View showing the support and mounting ofthe electricalv Contact arm'.

Referring to Fig. 1,*tlere vis' shown a disc wheel composed of 'the pressed' metal plates'ii and l2 each of which 'has' an annular depression vI'l and I6 respectively, spaced portions of which have deeper depressions |'8 and .20', the meeting faces o'fwhich are welded together as indicated at 2-2. The outer plate f2 'has a 4peripheral ange .-24 whichds welded atit's lmargir'rall edge to the .inner plate lill-as indicated at '2li 'The plates liifand. Ij2are thus secured ,together to vform a central chamber 28.radial1passages '3U [intermediate the welded port1ons'22 and an annular chamber L32..

The inner plate I0 .fis -flanged l.as at .'34' to form a stop or vrim forthe 'bead 3.6 ofthe tire casing 381y A ring shaped member 40 is positioned between the .Sinner bead 3B .and .the outer bead 42 of the tire teasing. The tire isheld in place by*V the removable flanged ring .lwhich is attachedUv by bolts d'6. threaded into studs welded orY otherwise secured .to the plate .I2l

The flangeii'd of vplate I2"i's.pro.vided .with openings' `and' .the .ring 540 4has openings 52 to .provide .for free ,passage .of the air lbetween` vthe chambers 2'8 and l32tofltl`ie Wheel and the chamber 54` of-lthe .tire casing.

The wheel .is .mounted ,for .ready vremoval .to change or .shift tires. .As shown in Fig. 1, the

inner plate il) may be xedlby ,bolts .58 to the brake drum B0. :Accessisrpbtained to the .bolts 58 forchanging .the-wheel-.by firstrremoving thecasing 6'2` which forms the centerfofe outer plate itz'. The cover v plate or Vcasing 62' .is secured by bolts 6'4 threaded y.into-.the socketsfBG.

Thefair pressure may be built-up by .pumpingin air througha` valve .positionedatsome `eonvenient place on the wheel to admit air into the air chambers of the wheel. As shown, a valve 68 is installed at the center of the hub or cover 62.

Although the wheel and tire could be pumped up in the usual manner by connecting an air hose to the valve 68, I prefer to employ automatic pumping means mounted within the wheel. Thus the hub 62 is formed with a cylindrical flange 1l) extending into the chamber 28 and forming a compartment 12 to receive a motor 14 for operating suitable pumping mechanism such as the reciprocable pistons 16 moved by links 18 from the eccentric ring 80 engaged by the eccentric 82 on the motor shaft 84. The air is admitted to the pump chambers 85 through the inlet ports 88.

The air is compressed and delivered into the wheel chamber 28 through the valve controlled ports 90. The movement of the eccentric ring is limited by providing the arm 92 and link 94 pivotally fixed at 96.

The wheel is mounted on an axle in any suitable manner. In Fig. 1 I have shown the wheel bolted to the brake drum 60 which is mounted on the axle` 98 and secured by nut |00. A fragmentary portion of the axle housing |02 is shown in Fig. 1. Since the Wheel rotates with respect to the housing |02, special means must be provided to conduct electric current to the motor 14. The motor is grounded on one side to the frame. The other terminal has a lead in wire |04 fastened to connection |06 which is mounted on but insulated from the inner plate I0. The arm |08 of the connection |06 serves as a mounting for a ring member H0. Contact with the suitable ring is made through a roller ||2 which is carried by a shaft ||4 to which the Y wire ||6 is suitably connected at I I8. The shaft ||4 is insulated from an eccentric |20 carried by bracket |22 which is fixed to the axle housing |02. The eccentric |20 may be turned through a lever arm |24 to move the roller H2 into contact with the ring I0. Any other suitable means may be employed to transmit the electrical current to the motor 14.

Fig. 4 shows a modified design which may be usedv for 'an airplane wheel. The Wheel support |30 is made integral with the brake drum |32 and forms a bearing for the short axle |34 which is secured to the support |30 by roller |30 and nut |38. TheV inner plate |40 of the wheel has a tubularv portion |42 which` is retained in the axle V|64 by the stud |44 threaded at |46 to the tubular portion |42.

The outer plate |48 of the disc has a cylindrical flange |52 the edge of which is welded at |54 to the inner plate |40 to form a chamber |50 at the center of the wheel. r)She tire |56 is mounted in the same manner as in Fig. 1.

An automobile pump is shown in Fig. 4 similar to that in Fig. 1. The electrical current is conducted to the motor through the wires |58 and |60, a spring arm |62 is pivoted at |64' and carries a contact plate |66 to which therwire |53 is connected. The plate |66 resiliently bears against the point of the rotatable pin |68 Which is mounted in but insulated from the stud |44. The wire |60 is connected to a contact member |10 which is pressed against the inner end of pin |68 by a spring |12. The spring |12 rests against a stop |14 which is held in place by a` lock ring |16 seated in the tubular portion |42 of the inner plate |40.

Fig. shows a modied design for a wide truck wheel in which the hub |80 is made to provide a central Vair chamber. A pair of small diameter tire casings |82 and |84 are mounted on the,

hub. The inner end of the hub is formed With an outwardly directed ange |86 to grip the bead of the casing |84. Spacing rings |88, |90 and |92 are provided. The rings |88 and |92 are arranged to fit within the tires between the beads while the ring |90 is placed between the tires to press against the outer surfaces of the tire beads. A removable ring or plate |94 is provided to engage the outer bead oi the outer tire |82, The-ring |94 isk iixed `in placeby the bolts |96. s Openings lest-and 200 are provided to permit free passage of the air from the central chamber into the tire casings.

. The tires |82 and |84 have specially formed treads 202 to engage a rigid ground engaging rim 204. The iianges 206 and 208 hold the rim 204 against axial displacement with respect to the tires. y

In every embodiment the hub portion of the wheel is made hollow to provide an air chamber which is in free communication with the resilient shock absorbing tire casings. Since no inner tubes are used, it may be desirable to use a sea1 ing coating or a rubber lining in the tire casing as indicated at 2|0 although the provision of automatic pumping means operative while the' vehicle is in motion will readily take care of slow leakage of the air. The central air chamber permits a larger volume in the combined chambers of the WheelY and tire casing than if the air chamber is conned to the periphery of the rim adjacent the tire.

Iclaim:

A wheel comprising a pneumatic body and a pneumatic tire, said wheel body having an air chamber at the center of the Wheel and extending across the axis of the Wheel, said air chamber being in free communication with the'v REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Y Number Name Date 1,049,678 Craig Jan. 7, 1913 1,470,742 Ibach Oct. 16, 1923 1,359,949 Barger` Nov. 23, 1920- 1,486,173V Williams Mar. 11, 1924 1,972,770 Gillespie Sept. 4, 1934l 2,211,935 Parker Aug. 20, 1940 

